The explosive leaper from the Freeport girls basketball team with four 1,000-point scorers that twice finished second in the state in Class 3A has broken out the last two weeks for Marshall.

Dickens stayed home as a freshman and was a junior college All-American at Highland, but had a quiet first year at Marshall, averaging 3.5 points and 2.5 rebounds. She also had a quiet start to her junior year after Marshall switched coaches. But she has made herself known recently, starting with a 17-rebound game against Houston on Jan. 20.

“I am finally starting to come around,” Dickens said in a phone interview. “Last year was a year of transition in my first year of playing Division I. Then we got a new coaching staff, so it was another transition and everyone had to prove themselves again. But I am starting to get the hang of it.

“I didn’t know I had 17 rebounds until they told me. I was just trying to do what I could to help the team. I guess I remembered about weak-side rebounds and have been working harder.”

She hasn’t slowed down much in the three games since. Dickens also had 10 rebounds — six offensive — in Sunday’s 55-54 victory over Memphis that snapped an eight-game losing streak for Marshall (7-13, 1-6) and gave the Herd their first Conference-USA win.

Dickens has averaged 8.3 points, 9 rebounds, 2.5 steals, 1.5 assists and 1 block in her last four games, all above her season averages.

“She is starting to become more comfortable around us and what we want for her,” first-year coach Matt Daniel said. “In the transition, there was a learning curve, but she is eager to learn. As she gets more comfortable in her skin, we’re seeing more of what we love about her as a player.”

That starts with more rebounds than you would expect from a 5-foot-10 guard. But then, few guards jump as well as Dickens. She always figured she should rebound as well in college as she did in high school.

“Even though the level of competition has changed, it’s still rebounding,” Dickens said. “It’s going to be the same.”

Dickens has also led Marshall in steals twice in the past four games.

“Rebounding is more important for me than getting steals, but getting steals is more fun,” Dickens said.

Maybe rebounds would be more fun if she turned more of them into points.

“I need to work on going back up strong,” she said. “I should be scoring more with my offensive rebounds.”

Daniel, the former coach of Central Arkansas, said Dickens could be like Central Arkansas star Megan Herbert, who has 77 career double-doubles.

“I’ve coached some good rebounders, and it starts with being relentless,” Daniel said. “Suporia flies in fearlessly. You can be the highest jumper in the gym, but if you don’t have a relentless mentality, it doesn’t matter.

Page 2 of 2 - “Her recent games show a flip in mentality. Rebounding is the part she’s most comfortable with, but her game continues to evolve and is willing to take more risks. I could see these performances coming. I’m really glad that Suporia is coming into her own.”

One 17-rebound game is not enough for Dickens. Nor is a hot four-game stretch. Dickens, who will graduate with a degree in criminal justice this spring and enroll in graduate school for her senior basketball season, wants to be a reliable team anchor every game.

“I would like to improve as much as possible, and that starts with consistency,” Dickens said. “We’ll have people lead in one category, then be at the bottom the next game. If you are going to lead, you’ve got to lead. That’s what we need.”